CAST  DOWN,  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN! 


A^  S  E  K  ]sj:  O  N 


DELIVERED   IN 


^t.  Ililip's  €hnth,  Cbrleston, 


December  15th,   1861, 


BEING     THE     SUNDAY     AFTER     THE     GREAT     FIRE, 


BY     REV.     VV.     B.     W.     HOWE, 


ASSISTANT  MINISTER  OP  ST.  PHILIP'S. 


PRINTED      BY      REQUEST. 


CHARLESTON: 

STEAM-POWER      PRESSES     OF    EVANS     &COGSWELL, 
3  Broad  and  103  East  Bay  Streets. 

1861. 


George  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 

COLONEL  FLOWERS 


1 

CAST  DOWN,   BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN! 


V. 

A.   s  E  R  m:  O  N 


DELIVERED    IK 


.t.  ^lilij's  €|urc|,  Charleston, 


December  15th,   1861,  ^' 

r 

BEING     THE     SUNDAY     AFTER     THE     aREAT     FIRE. 

r 
BY    REV.     W.     B.     W.     HOWE, 


ASSISTANT  MINISTER  OF  ST.  PHILIP  S. 


K 


PUINTED      BY      REQUEST. 


CHARLESTON: 

STEAM-POWER     PRESSES     OF    EVANS    &    COGSWELL 

3  Broad  and  103  East  Bay  Streets. 

1861. 

Vf 


ti^' 


t 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 
in  2010  witii  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


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littp://Www.arcliive.org/details/castdownbutnotfoOOIiowe 


#6fO 


all   we   not  reocivej 


Shall  we  receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall 
evil? — Job  ii,  10. 

The  book  of  »Tol),  my  beloved  bretliron,  is  Ibo  book  of 
divine  rrovideiice,  and  exliibits  the  method  according  to 
which  the  divine  puq)oses  manifest  themselves  in  relation 
to  men.  The  key  which  unlocks  this  method,  and  which 
gives  ns  to  know  the  teaching  of  this  sublime  book,  is 
found  in  this  simjile  (inestion  :  Do  great  temporal  calami- 
tics,  which  are  jn'miitted  to  befall  a  })erson  or  an  entire 
community,  necessarily  imply  some  great  and  crying  sin  an 
their  root  and  cause,  out  of  whicli  they  grow,  and  u})on 
which  they  are  visited  as  a  punisliment?  Or,  in  other 
words,  do  great  trials  poi)it  infallibly  to  great  crimes, 
which  have  invited  the  severe  vengeance,  of  an'  offended 
God  ?  ^ 

If  we  keep  this  in  mind,  as  we  read  the  complainings  of 
Job  and  the  reproaches  of  liis  friends,  we  shall  be  guidcjd 
to  a  satisfiictory  intei'jtretation  of  their  rcascjiiings.  Let  us 
briefly  glance  at  the  condition  of  things  as  set  before  us. 
"VVe  are  first  of  all  introduced,  ill  the  opening  verse,  to  the 
principal  personage  himself^ — the  patriarch,  who  was  soon 
to  be  so  sorely  tried  both  lor  liis  own  and  for  others'  profit. 

"There  was  a  man,"  it  says,  "  in  the  land  of  Uz,  whose 


name  was  Jol):  and  tliat  man  was  }»erfbc-t  and  ui)riglit.  and 
one  tliat  feared  God  and  oRcliewed  evil.  "  His  worldly 
prosperity  is  also  set  Jortli.  and  lie  is  pi-onc^uni-ed  to  be 
"the  greatest  of  all  tlic  men  in  the  East."  A  sudden  and 
overwhelming  reverse,  however,  overtakes  iiim  and  Masts 
all  his  pleasant  prospects,  and  lays  him  low  in  the  dnst. 
Stroke  ujton  stroke,  and  hoh  npon  holt,  follow  in  <iuiek 
and  awfnl  succession,  to  his  own  ania/cnicnt  and  tliat  of 
/iieighhors  and  friends,  till  what  was  once  a  iair  and 
"blooming  tree,  laden  also  with  tVuit,  is  now  dead  and 
withcre(h  "There  was  a  day,"  so  says  the  inspired  record, 
"when  his  sons  and  daughters  were  eating  and  di'inking 
wine  ill  their  eldest  hrothei-'s  house;  and  there  came  a 
messenger  unto  Job  and  said.  The  oxen  were  ploughing, 
and  the  asses  feeding  beside  them,  and  the  Sabeans  fell 
upon  them,  and  I  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee. 

While  /)>'  was  yet  si)eaking,  there  came  also  another  and 
said.  The  tire  of  God  is  fallen  from  Heaven,  and  hath 
burned  up  the  sheep  and  the  servants,  and  consumed 
them,  and  I  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee. 

While  he  was  yet  s})eaking,  there  came  also  anotlur  and 
said.  The  Chaldeans  made  out  three  l>ands  and  fell  upon 
the  camels,  and  ha\e  carried  them  awa}-;  yea,  and  slain 
the  servants  with  the  edge  of  the  swortl. 

While  hi'  was  yet  speakiiTg,  there  came  also  another  and 
said.  Thy  sons  and  thy  daughters  were  eating  and  drink- 
ing wine  in  their  chlcst  brother's  house;  and  behold,  there 
came  a*great  wind  tVom  the  wilderness,  and  snu)te  up(^n 
the  foiii-  corners  of  the  house,  and  it  fell  upon  the  young 
men  and  they  are  dead."  Nor  was  this  the  full  extent  of 
the  awful  visitation.  To  crown  the  whole.  Job  himself,  in 
the  depths  of  all  his  sorrows,  is  smitten  with  a  loathsome 


disease,  so  tliat  now  niaddoinng  pliysieal  pain  is  added  to 
all  liis  mental  disquiet. 

In  a  transport  ot  despair,  ])i-ongbt  on  by  sucli  an  accii- 
mnlation  of  bitter  woes,  bis  wife  bids  bim  curse  God  and 
die:  for  it  was  to  no  purpose  tbat  be  served  a  Being  wbo 
bad  proved  so  indifferent  to  a  faitliful  servant.  But  Job's 
reply  is  tbat  sublime  one  in  our  text,  "Wbat!  sball  we  re^ 
ceive  good  at  tbe  band  of  God,  and  sball  we  not  receive! 
evil?"  By  crif^  of  course,  we  are  not  to  understand  moral  ' 
evil  ;  for  witb  such,  God  does  not  tempt  or  try  any  man: 
but  outward  evil,  sucb  as  consists  in  adverse  circumstances 
and  misfortunes.  ^ 

In  tbis  state  of  ap}>arcnt  abandonment,  for  it  was  only 
apparent,  bis  bosom  friends  find  liim. 

]Iis  wealtb  bas  all  fled  and  bis  cbildren  perisbed,  and 
be  bimself  so  smitten  witb  disease  tliat  tlity-e  is  no 
wbole  part  in  bis  body.  So  cbanged  is  be,  and  so 
marred  is  bis  countenance  b}-  mental  anguisb,  and  by 
the  liand  of  God,  tbat  tbey  are  unable  to  recognise  bim; 
and  tliey  lift  up  their  voice  and  weep  in  lamentation 
over  one  once  so  exalted,  but  now,  alas,  brought  so  low. 
Job  is  tbe  first  to  break  tbe  silence  of  seven  days  and 
seven  nights,  which  auuizement  and  sympatbyt  for  bis 
distressed  condition  had  imposed  upon  the  friends:  and 
he  docs  it  to  lament  tbe  day  of  his  birth. 

He  looks  to  another  existence  for  solace,  and  to  a 
world  where  tbe  wicked  cease  from  trou))liiig  as  the 
haven  where  be  would  ]>e  ;  '■'■  tlnrc  the  weary  be  at  rest; 
there  tlie  prisoners  rest  togetbci-  ;  they  bear  not  the 
voice  of  the  oppressor." 

But  bis  friends  by  no  means  strike  upon  tbe  same 
key.     They,  too,  have  been   revolving  in  their  minds  the 


probable  caufio  of  Job's  ealaniitics,  aii<l  tlicv  liavc  conic 
to  tlic  conclusion  tbat  some  sins  or  sin  wbicb  he  lias 
been  secretly  acblictcd  lo,  and  wliicb  have  escaped  obser- 
vation, have  at  last  Ibund  biin  out,  and  that  he  is  now 
ijnder<rointr  tli«'  «liu'  reward  of  liis  evil  deeds.  Thi-v 
more  llian  iiitiinatc  tliat  bis  former  j^icty  was  only  a 
ricre  show,  put  on  to  conceal  his  real  character;  and 
y^iheir  exhortation  is.  to  confess  his  hypocrisy  and  show 
this  crimes,  which,  though  hitherto  kept  carefully  con- 
Xealed,  have  now  at  length  brought  down  u[)(Mi  him  the 
just  vengeance  of  Jebovali.  They  assume  it  as  an  axiom, 
and  us  a  truth  which  can  admit  of  no  disputing,  that 
God's  afflictive  dispensations  are  purely  and  simply  pc.ni- 
fioe,  and  that  they  are  invariably  meted  out  to  transgres- 
sors of  Divine  Laws.  Their  words,  and  still  harsher 
insinuations  of  criminal  conduct,  of  which  Job's  con- 
science  acquitted  liim,  are  gall  and  wormwood  to  the 
tortured  and  agonized  soul  of  the  patriarch. 

They  try  him  so  as  by  fire.  They  show  that  the 
friends  in  whom  he  trusted  deem  him  unworthy,  and  a 
hypocrite. 

The  sympathy  which  should  have  l)een  his,  and  which 
ought  to  have  aided  his  faith  to  bear  up  under  the  clouds 
and  darkness  whie-h  now  encompassed  him,  is  nowhere 
made  jmanifest ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  his  wounded  s}»ii-it 
is  treated  with  the  frosty  pi'ecepts  of  false  wisdom  and 
I'oaiy  traditions.  Feeling  in  his  inmost  soul  how  much 
and  how  cruelly  his  former  friends  misunderstood  him, 
and  seeing  how  all  their  former  faith  in  his  integrity' 
was  shaken  and  overthrown,  so  tbat  in  their  eyes  he  was 
now  not  oidy  sti'icken  with  exteriud  poverty,  but  also  had 
lost  what  was    iar    hetter — a   chai-aeter    for    integrity   and 


\    ' 

piety.     He  exclaims:    "How   long   will   ye  vex   my  soul, 
and  break  me  in  pieces  with  words  ?" 

"I  have  heard  many  such  things,  miserable  comforters 
are  ye  all.  Shall  vain  Avords  have  au  end  ?  I  also  could 
speak  as  ye  do ;  if  your  soul  were  in  my  soul's  stead,  1 
could  heap  up  words  against  you,  and  shake  mine  head  at 
you.  But  I  would  strengthen  you  with  my  mouth,  and 
the  moving  of  my  lips  should  assuage  your  grief."  He 
appeals  unto  God.  He  denies  not  that  he  is  a  sinner, 
because  there  is  no  man  that  liveth  and  sinneth  not;  but 
he  denies  being  such  an  one  as  their  arguments  would  go 
to  show.  He  denies  having  been  a  hypocrite,  on  account 
of  which  they  maintained  he  was  now  being  visited  with 
sore  judgments  from  God.  He  felt  assured,  from  his  own 
experience,  that  they  had  failed  utterly  and  miserably,  and 
harshly  in  their  interpretations  of  God's  providences  with 
regard  to  him.  AVheu  he  examined  himselt  he  felt  as- 
sured that,  say  what  they  would,  and  insinuate  what  they 
would,  he  was  still  not  guilty  of  any  special  crimes  which 
had  brought  down  these  judgments  upoix  him.  There 
must  be  some  other  way  of  accounting  for  his  great  trials. 
What  this  was  he  was  not  at  all  certain,  and  in  vindicating 
himself  from  their  charges,  he  said  many  things  concern- 
ing God  which,  no  doubt,  were  rash  and  ill-advised;  but 
still,  on  the  whole,  Job  came  much  nearer  the  truth  than 
those  who  were  his  exhorters.  Ws  fault  was  charging 
God  foolishly;  but  theirs  wholly  to  distort  the  truth.  He, 
in  his  anguish,  forgot  at  times  that  God  was  in  heaven 
and  he  upon  earth,  and  he  may  have  challenged  the  Divine 
Counsels  with  too  great  freedom,  so  as  to  have  approached 
tlie  borders  of  irreverence;  but  ihei/  were  guilty  of  lying 
tbr  God. 


All  is  decided  in  tlie  conclusion  of  this  book.  There 
God  enters  into  judgment  wiili  his  servants,  and  settles 
the  controversy  between  Job  and  his  frien»ls.  He  first 
rebuked  Job,  but  with  the  utmost  gentleness.  "Then  the 
Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,  and  said  :  Who 
is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  hv  words  without  knowl- 
edge? Gird  up  thy  loiiis  now  like  a  man,  ior  1  will  de- 
mand of  thee  and  answer  thou  me,  Where  wast  (hou  when 
I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth?  Declare,  if  thou  hii.st 
understanding." 

And,  thereupon,  the  Lord  graciously  takes  his  afflicted 
servant  through  the  various  kingdoms  of  luitiirc,  :iiid  l)ids 
him  observe  their  variety  and  sublime  order,  and  the  mys- 
teriousnoss  of  the  laws  which  govern  them,  and  how  im- 
possible it  is  that  he  should  comprehend  thein.  "JIast 
thou  entered  into  the  springs  of  the  sea?"  "Ivnowest  thou 
the  ordinances  of  heaven  ?"  "  Canst  thou  bind  the  sweet 
influences  of  Tlciades,  or  loose  the  bands  of  Orion  ? 
Canst  thou  bring  forth  Mazzaroth  in  his  season  ?  Or  canst 
thou  guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons?"  "Ilast  thou  given 
the  horse  strengtli  ?  J  last  thou  clothed  his  neck  with 
thunder?"  "Doth  the  hawk  fly  by  thy  wisdom  and  stretch 
her  wings  to  the  south  ?" 

The  argument  comes  home  to  Job  with  crushing  eflect. 
If,  as  God  has  shown  him,  he  cannot  overtake  the  divine 
purposes  in  all  theii"  sublime  and  majestic  scope,  as  re- 
vealed in  outwai-d  nature,  with  his  linite  undcTslnndiiig ; 
if  the  stars  in  theii-  courses,  and  the  flowers  in  their 
beauty,  and  the  instincts  of  animals,  in  their  unei-riiig  wis- 
dom, set  him  at  deflance,  and  teach  him  to  admire  their 
Creator's  wisdom,  cannot  he,  also,  rel}'  upon  that  same 
wisdom    in    his  pro\ideiili;il    dealings  with  nun,  and  even 


9 


wlien  they  seem  most  dark  and  obscure,  believe  that  divine 
thought  and  care  preside  over  them  all  ?  Shall  wisdom 
and  order  be  everywhere  else,  save  in  God's  dealings  with 
man  ? 

Job  bows  to  the  truth,  and  says:  "I  know  that  thou 
canst  do  everything,  therefore  have  I  uttered  that  I  under- 
stood not:  things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not. 
I  have  heard  of  Thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  l)ut  now 
mine  eye  seeth  Thee."  The  Lord  turns  next  to  Job's 
friends,  and  puts  the  question,  which  they  had  discussed 
with  so  much  vehemence,  forever  at  rest. 

While  suffering  comes  originally  from  sin,  inasmuch  as 
had  there  been  no  sin  in  the  world  there  would  have  been 
no  suffering  ;  still  this  general  truth  is  not  to  be  distorted, 
as  they  had  done  who  had  made  Job's  afflictions  the  pun- 
ishment of  his  individual  crimes,  and  had  overlooked  alto- 
gether the  fact  that  they  were  tests  of  faith,  to  residt  in  blessing 
if  rightly  improved.  And  tlie  Lord  said  to  Eliphar  the 
Temanite,  my  wrath  is  kindled  against  thee  and  against 
thy  two  friends,  for  ye  have  not  spoken  of  me  the  thing 
that  is  right,  as  my  servant  Job  hath.  ''  Therefore,  take 
unto  you  now  seven  bullocks  and  seven  rams,  and  go  to 
ray  servant  Job  and  offer  up  for  yourselves  a  Inirnt-offering, 
and  my  servant  Job  shall  pray  for  you  ;  for  him  will  I 
accept;  lest  I  deal  with  you  after  your  folly,  in  that  ye 
have  not  spoken  of  me  the  thing  which  is  right,  like  my 
servant  Job."  Such  is  very  briefly  and  imperfectly  the 
leading  thought  and  design  in  this  wonderful  book.  It 
is  addressed  to  meet  the  ever-recurring  question,  as  to 
why  God  afflicts,  and  to  warn  us  that  we  may  not  reason, 
from  individual  suffering,  to  the  conclusion  that  the  suf- 
ferer is  a  greater  sinner  than  one  who  escapes. 


10 


God's  judgments  arc  not  thus  liniitc'(l  to  t}iis  world. 
And  yet  it  is  harder  to  cast  out  this  demon  tlian  ahnost 
any  other.  Christ  at  liis  advent  lound  liini  in  i'ull  posses- 
sion of  the  Jews.  "Master,"  say  they,  "  who  did  sin,  this 
man  or  his  parents,  tliat  he  was  born  blind?"  On  another 
occasion  we  read  tliat  some  told  liim  of  the  Galileans, 
whose  blood  had  been  mingUMl  with  their  sacrifices;  and 
that  Jesus,  in  answer,  denied  that  they  were  sinners  above 
all  the  Galileans,  because  they  suftered  such  things;  as 
likewise,  that  those  upon  whom  the  tower  in  Silvam  fell, 
were  worse  than  all  others  who  dwelt  in  Jerusalem. 

As*^  have  already  said,  suft'ering  would  not  have  been 
present  in  the  world  at  all  l)ut  for  sin  ;  but  then  this  is  not 
the  connection  usually  thought  of,  but  a  purely  personal 
connectioii,  such  as  Job's  friends  imagined.  The  fact  is, 
in  all  human  suffering  we  ought  to  see,  as  its  cause,  that 
human  ill-desert  in  which  we  have  a  part,  as  well  as  the 
individual  sufferer.  Looking  upon  suffering  thus,  not  as  a 
private  relation,  but  as  one  which  evidences  to  a  universal 
fallen  condition,  and  which  might  have  found  place  in  our 
own  persons  as  well  as  in  others,  we  can  entertain  a  genu- 
ine sympathy;  for  there  is  no  reason,  other  than  God's 
pleasure,  why  what  has  befallen  them  should  not  have 
come  upon  us;  we  are  no  better  than  they.  And  so, 
doubtless,  my  beloved  brethren,  there  have  been  great 
searchings  of  heart  among  us  all,  in  reference  to  the 
awful  conjiar/ration  of  the  past  week,  whereby  so  large  and 
so  fail"  a  jiorlion  of  our  city  has  l)eeu  laid  in  ashes.  We 
can  only  lilt  our  hands  and  say:  What  has  (iod  wi'ought 
or  permitted  to   be  wrought  ? 

With  the  Redeemer  in  Jerusalem,  we  could  weep  over 
the  city.     The  heart  aches  as  it  thinks  of  the  houseless 


\       11 

poor,  the  dcstrnction  of  mansions  associated  -with  the  sa- 
cred past,  the  desohition  of  noble  halls,  the  ruin  of 
ehnrchos,  and  of  the  beautiful  cathedral  which  filled  jou, 
by  its  fair  proportions,  with  a  pure  delight  every  time  you 
passed  it.  We  say,  with  Jeremiah,  as  we  wend  our  way 
through  the  desolated  streets,  and  in  view  of  so  many 
homes  now,  alas  I  in  ruins:  "Mine  eye  vunncth  down 
with  watoi'  for  the  destruction  of  the  daughter  of  m}- 
people."  "  The  Lord  hath  trodden  the  virgin,  the  daugh- 
ter of  .Judah,  as  in  a  wine-press.  For  these  things  I  weep; 
mine  eye,  mine  eye  runneth  down  with  water,  because  the 
C-omforter  that  should  relieve  my  soul  is  far  fron^  mo — my 
children  arc  desolate" — "all  mine  enemies  have  heard  of 
my  trouble ;  they  are  glad  that  thou  hast  done  it." 

"  It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  that  we  are  not  consumed, 
because  His  compassions  fail  not ;"  and,  therefore,  here, 
amid  the  sorrows  which  encompass  us  all, ^  and  amid  the 
h)sses  of  which  so  many  families  in  this  congregation  arc 
very  largely  partakers,  I  desire,  my  beloved  brethren,  as 
your  mouthpiece,  to  acknowledge  God's  mercy  in  the 
midst  of  judgment,  and  to  give  Ilim  thanks  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  this  His  sacred  edifice,  and  for  sparing  you 
from  beholding,  a  second  (imc,  your  "  holy  and  beautiful 
house,  where  yonv  fathers  praised  God,  burned  up  with 
fire,  and  all  your  pleasant  things  laid  waste."  Yes,  we 
have  our  soul's  house,  Avhere  we  may  fall  down  and 
kneel  before  our  Maker.  I  thank  Him  now  and  here, 
and  in  your  name,  that  its  Cross  is  not  at  this  moment 
in  tbe  dust,  but  that  it  still  shines  in  the  morning  sun, 
and  points  us  away  from  the  smouldering  embers  and 
ruins  beneath,  to  those  brighter  worlds  above,  where  Christ 
sittcth  at  the  rigbt  hand  of  the  Father,  and  to  treasures 


12 


more  precious  tlmn  of  s^old  tried  seven  times  in  tlie  fire. 
Yea,  God  has  mingled  mercy  witli  His  judgments.  But 
I  am  conscious  of  anotlier  cirenmstancc.  and  one  wliicli 
lias  been  present  to  all  luarts.  doubtless,  wliieli  srcms  to 
make  this  calamity  assume  still  graver  proportions.  At 
any  tunc  it  would  have  weighed  us  down  with  sympathy 
lor  those  who  liave  l)een  so  .suddenly  dejtrived  of  rher- 
islied  homes  and  of  their  houses  of  God;  l)ut  coming  at 
this  particular  time,  when  we  are  threatened  by  an  in- 
vasion from  I'Utbless  foes,  and  wlu  n  our  every  iutnc  and 
muscle  was  strained  to  make  a  gallant  defence — when, 
too,  tlicrc  was  more  or  less  of  despondency  prevailing  in 
many  minds  in  anticipation  of  the  coming  struggle — 
when  all  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life  were  more 
than  usually  dUHcuIt  to  procure,  and  all  were  more  or 
less  straitened  in  their  ability  to  attbrd  the  requisite  relief 
— when  for  weeks  and  months  past  we  had  been  earnestly 
engaged  in  ministering  to  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers, 
and  in  contributing  to  the  comfort  and  efliciency  of  those 
in  tlie  iield — when  in  every  family  the  ruling  ([uestion 
with  the  oldest  and  the  youngest  seemed  to  be,  What  can 
/  do  for  the  good  cause  unto  wliich  all  hearts  stand 
pledged?  Oh,  then,  at  such  a  time  of  all  others,  for  this 
destruction  to  be  pei'mitted  to  take  place,  ajipeared  strange, 
yea,  passing  sti'ange,  if  (iod  was  indei'd  with  us  and  upon 
our  side.  For  a  little  moment,  perha[)s,  our  hearts  failed 
us,  as  we  thought  that  God  Inid  forsaken  us,  in  ])ennii- 
ting  the  devouring  tire  to  ravage  and  lay  waste  what  we 
had  detei'iiiincd  to  defend  with  our  lix'es.  We  fancied 
we  heard  the  taunt  of  the  foe:  "  They  trusted  in  (lod 
that  He  Avould  (h.'iivei-  them;  let  Him  deliver  them  if 
Jfe  will   have  them." 


13 


We  had  claimed  that  the  manifestations  of  Providence 
had  been  signall}^  in  onr  favor  ever  since  the  commence- 
ment of  tliis  struggle  ;  hut  had  not  God  now  turned 
against  us  ?  This  is  the  thought,  I  doubt  not,  which 
entered  many  a  heart;  which  had  tried  to  stay  itself  upon 
(irod,  as  he  ga?:ed  upon  the  desolation  around  him,  and 
then  thought  upon  the  enemy  at  our  doors.  We  fear  not 
man,  but  if  God  1)0  (/gainst  us,  wlio  shall  be  onr  friend? 

But  this  hour  and  power  of  darkness  was  soon  passed, 
and  faith,  emerging  from  her  brief  eclipse,  once  more 
asserted  her  supremacy.  It  is  written,  "  Clouds  and  dark- 
ness arc  round  about  Him,  but  righteousness  and  judg- 
ment are  the  habitations  of  His  seat."  We  have  entered 
the  clouds,  and  like  Moses  have  feared  and  trembled  :  but 
as  sure  as  God  liveth,  if  we  but  maintain  our  faith,  we 
shall  see  the  righteousness  and  judgment  of  His  seat. 
"'For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee,  but  with 
great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee. 

In  a  little  wrath,  I  hid  my  face  from  thee  for  a  mo- 
ment; but  with  everlasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy 
on  thee,  saith  the  Lord  thy  Redeemer." 

We  think  upon  him  who  gave  utterance  to  our  text. 
We  see  him  fried,  not  punished.  We  see  him  cast  down, 
but  not  forsaken.  N'ever  was  God  so  near  to  him  as 
when,  to  mortal  ken,  God  had  deserted  him.  The  eye  of 
the  Omnipotent  was  upon  him  in  all  his  sorrows,  mark- 
ing the  trial  of  his  laith;  and  the  everlasting  arms  were 
beneath  him,  making  it  laudable,  glorious  and  honora- 
ble. 

And  so  with  us  at  present — we  are  being  tiicd,  not 
punished.  God  would  prove  what  our  faith  is  made  of: 
whether  it  is  a  mere  holiday-faith,  which  lasts  only  when 


14 


the  sun  shines,  and  wlien  all  things  are  prosperous,  or 
whether  it  is  of  that  rohust  nature,  which  will  endure  a 
great  fight  of  afflictions — which  is  the  suhstanee  of  things 
hoped  for,  iuid  the  evidence  of  things  not  si'cn.  And 
all  that  tries  faitli  most,  necessarily  takes  on  the  form  oi 
our  being  forsaken  of  God. 

This  is  the  very  essence  of  the  trial,  to  btlicvc  that  (Jod 
is  with  us  when,  to  all  appearance,  He  has  deserted  us. 
Examine  the  cases  of  Scripture  saints,  and  you  will  iind 
this  to  be  so,  "My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  mel" 
they  exclaim;  Init  the  withdrawal  was  rather  in  appear- 
ance than  otherwise.  And  the  truth  is,  we  ought  to  be 
like  children,  who  cling  to  the  parent  all  the  more  tena- 
ciously by  so  much  as  he  endeavors  to  put  them  out  of 
his  arms. 

We  will  say:  ''Though  ITe  slay  me,  yet  w^ill  I  trust  in 
Him."  It  is  a  time  for  humility,  but  not  for  despair, 
Not  thus  did  they  despond  in  the  day  of  gloominess, 
"who  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms;  out  of  weakness 
were  made  strong;  waxed  valiant  in  fight;  turned  to 
flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens."  Let  us,  therefore,  breth- 
ren, in  this  exigency  of  our  aifairs,  "humble  ourselves 
under  the  mighty  liand  of  God,  that  lie  nuiy  exalt  us  in 
due  time,  casting  all  our  care  upt)n  God,  and  believing 
that  lie  caretli  for  us."  And  lie  will  exalt  us,  if  we 
trust  and  faint  not.  Who  knows  for  what  (iod  is  pre- 
paring us?  Often  and  often  he  sriiools  and  tutors  those 
for  whom  lie  has  high  things  in  store  by  the  taste  of 
the  woi'unvood  and  the  gall,  that  they  niay  learn  IVom 
whence  comes  their  future  high  estate. 

And  so,  perchance,  this,  our  city — our  beloved  city — 
now   so  depressed  and  stricken,   shall    in    "due    time    be 


15 


exalted."  Beauty  shall  be  given  it  for  its  ashes,  and  the 
oil  of  joy  for  mourning:  and  the  garment  of  praise  for 
the  spirit   of  heaviness. 

"0,  thou  afflicted,  tossed  -with  tempest  and  not  com- 
forted, behold  I  will  lay  thy  stones  with  fair  colors,  and 
thy  foundations  with  sapphires.  And  I  will  make  thy 
windows  agates  and  thy  gates  of  carbuncles,  and  all  thy 
borders  of  pleasant  stones.  And  all  thy  children  shall 
be  taught  of  the  Lord,  and  great  sliall  bo  the  peace  of 
thy  children.  In  righteousness  shalt  thou  be  established; 
thou  shalt  be  far  from  oppression,  for  thou  shalt  not 
fear;  and  from  terror,  for  it  shall  not  come  nea|.'  thee. 
This  is  the  heritage  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and 
their  righteousness  is  of  me,  saith  the  Lord." 

f 


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